[CT-NFB] International guide dog week celebration

Tue Apr 25 14:27:08 UTC 2023

Guide dog foundation told me 9 to 18 months to wait for a new dog. Beth 

From: CT-NFB <ct-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of CHERI DUQUETTE via CT-NFB
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2023 7:48 AM
To: NFB of Connecticut Mailing List <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org>
Cc: CHERI DUQUETTE <cbduquette at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [CT-NFB] International guide dog week celebration

Hi, 

Thanks for sharing your stories. 

It saddens me to have to share that once again, Paul has been told he will have to wait for his dog.  He is going through Freedom Guide Dog, and they let him know they won't have a dog until this fall.  At first it was last fall, then this spring, and now this fall.  Needless to say he is disappointed.  Should he consider a different organization?  

Thanks for letting me vent a little. 

Be well, 

Cheri 

On 04/24/2023 12:57 PM Isabel Rosario via CT-NFB <ct-nfb at nfbnet.org <mailto:ct-nfb at nfbnet.org> > wrote: 

Happy International Guide Dog Week! The Ct Association of Guide Dog Users want to take a moment to celebrate and recognize the amazing work of guide dogs and their handlers. These loyal and intelligent animals serve as the eyes for their blind and visually impaired owners, helping them navigate the world with independence and confidence. We’ll be showing our appreciation for these incredible animals and their trainers by sharing our favorite guide dog stories throughout the week! 

We’ll be starting off with stories from Beth Rival -  My first guide dog was Sierra from the Seeing eye. A golden retriever and lab mix. I learned that letting the public pet her wasn’t benefiting me or my dog. My independence was 100 per cent increased by getting a guide dog. It has given me the best   years of my life and it gave me a   wonderful experience and it gave me all the independence I  could ever ask for. Betty and Bruce babysat for her once in a while when she was retired and one time they brought her from their home in Wethersfield to our office then in East Hartford and she took a big dump when she got to the office. They all laughed…  One of my first discrimination stories was when I went to Disney and at the airport you would get on a bus to go to the Disney hotels. Well they boarded the entire bus and made me wait forever. Then the lady asked passengers if it was okay if a dog came on the bus. Then I had to parade by everyone to the very back of the bus and was embarrassed, but I said nothing because it was my first dog and I didn’t want to make waves… That would not be the case with any of my other 2 dogs. Sierra was at Washington seminar every February and we proceeded into a taxi to go to the meetings, before Ubers etc. I got in the front of the taxi and brought my guide dog in and before I could blink, she was slurping the drivers soup in between the front seats. That ride cost me a large tip and the price of a  large hot new soup for the driver. Luckily, he was a good guy about the incident. My 2 nd guide dog would always walk out of  stores like Target with a stuffed animal in his mouth  or walk away with one in his mouth from the Berlin fair and a police officer shook his hand cuffs behind me and said your dog is under arrest, with lots of humor.  I have been asked at least 4 times from strangers… How can I get one of your harnesses. My response is always.. well you first have to be blind. It is very annoying. Many times shopping with my girlfriend and her guide dog we are asked why don’t we share a guide dog? Also, can I help put your packages in the trunk of your car? Don’t they see we can’t drive? The public can be very cute at times.  I have always owned pets since I was little. There is a great benefit to loving a fur baby, but especially when you trust and love a guide dog with your life. I wouldn’t change anything  and have loved having my freedom. 

Attached are pictures of Beth's guides mentioned in her stories:Sierra, a yellow dog, Barkley a big black lab, and Harlow a smaller lab    

-- 

Best regards, 
Isabel Rosario 
Co-chair|NABS Membership Committee 
President| Connecticut Association of Blind Students 
President| Connecticut Association of Guide Dog Users 
A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind of Connecticut 
www.nfbct.org <http://www.nfbct.org>  
Check out my podcast:https://anchor.fm/brizzys-perspective 
203-993-3045 
insertion point between Committee and President|, at the 81st position 

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